


Artificial Infatuation

by orphan_account



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Artificial Intelligence, Cheating, M/M, Minor Violence, cyborg alfred
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-11-16 20:47:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11260692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When a new unit is transferred to Ivan's outpost and the engineer is forced to work with him, he's surprised to find himself falling for the cyborg.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Repost from my tumblr

When the unit awoke, he was cold—or rather, his thermal scanners were indicating a much lower air temperature than his previous lab had usually preferred. He blinked several times, feeling his eyelids to be working well. They were often the first to break during transports, he’d been briefed. Since the smaller scaled musculature was in service, it could safely be assumed that the larger muscles were up to code.

A bright light invaded his retinas, and he shut his eyes. He wasn’t completely robotic, after all, and his brilliant blue eyes had the same weaknesses as any human’s. It was imperative that he strive to protect his human parts as much as possible, as they were much more fragile than his mechanical portions.

“Are your systems optimal?” a voice that was distinctly robotic asked.

His own voice was based off of the same human who donated the unit’s other biological organs—the brain, skin, eyes, to name a few—and so sounded much more masculine and pleasant.

“Yes,” he flexed his muscles and tested some joints. “The left elbow’s hydrogel should be replaced soon, however.”

“Noted,” the voice replied. The unit’s tactile senses alerted him to a sharp prodding at his elbow. The synthetic biofluid that powered his bio systems and protected his robotic ones leaked out, though the volume lost wasn’t enough to cause damage. He glanced down and saw a surgical unit making quick work of his false joint, removing the small gel pad that served as a lubricant and replacing it in seconds.

Had his personality unit been in place, he would’ve thanked the robot; however, such a nicety would’ve been lost on a medical unit. It was a true robot after all, and only operated based on its programming.

After a few basic checkups and part replacements, a signal of a particular frequency was sent. Its encryption was complex, and only that unit’s brain held the key. It wasn’t an order from the Capitol, whose scientists had previously been his only contacts, but from the local sector’s base to which he’d been transferred. His presence was requested in the robotics division for briefing and placement. While the doctor hadn’t heard the message, another was sent to it that prompted it to rush up the procedure. It offered up a basic ensemble: white underwear, pants, shirt, and shoes. It matched the rest of the medical bay with its white walls and clean, polished floors.

He arrived at the meeting place within minutes, the retinal scanner recognizing his data and allowing him entry. In the large space were several humans fiddling with various parts and even a few robots. The unit saw that his clothes matched those of the engineers. He was certainly the most human-like robot in the facility, as the rest were built for function rather than fashion. Of course, he himself was perfectly capable of taking on complex tasks, he just could pass as a man by sight.

“Who the hell are you?” a short, blond human asked. The unit offered him a comforting smile. It was a muscle reflex that he used to disarm threats. The man seemed unimpressed.

“I am A.I. unit F-R-thirty,” he blinked, and the man’s bio stats appeared before him. “Dr. Kirkland of Sector 50’s Robotics Division. I am here to meet with Dr. Beilschmidt.”

The man’s bushy brows rose. “You’re the new unit from the Capitol?”

“That is correct.”

“Damn, usually they only send us the scrapbots. A.I.? They really did it, then. Impressive.”

Unit FR-30 was not in actuality A.I. However, the Capitol had built him and several other cyborgs under that guise for propaganda purposes. That of course was strictly on a need-to-know basis, and only the head engineer of Sector 50 as well as the local governor were to know. The A.I. program was well on the way to succeeding, however, it would just take a few more years. In the meantime, units such as FR-30 were perfectly human-like in nature and ensured the populace of the Capitol’s scientific prowess.

“It was a long process, but success will always be in reach of the Capitol,” he said.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Great, more patriotic drivel crammed down our throats. Do you have to do that? Don’t you have your own opinions on the matter? Any robot can spew that shit.”

He smiled. “I need to see Dr. Beilschmidt, if you please.”

“Well, at least you’re polite. Come along, then.”

Arthur led the unit past several labs. The humans stared openly at the new figure, most thinking him a new engineer—and an attractive one, at that. Whispers followed the pair as they finally entered the main office of the division.

Dr. Ludwig Beilschmidt looked up from his computer at the insistent knock—he recognized it instantly as Arthur’s. Cursing his luck since the shorter man was always in a mood, he waved his hand, and the door opened. He stood promptly on realizing just what had finally arrived.

“Unit FR-30,” he said. “I wasn’t notified of your arrival.”

“The roads were favorable. I only just arrived.”

“Yes, well, that’s good. Dr. Kirkland, thank you for bringing him here. Please go back to your station.”

Arthur bristled. The unit could feel his skin rising in temperature ever so slightly. “Of course, sir,” he remained respectful.

After he left, Dr. Beilschmidt closed the door. “Your orders came in this morning. I must say, I don’t understand the logic of it. Your intellect alone should keep you in engineering, maybe in R&D. How does the Capitol expect us to get the most use of your talent when you’re on patrol? We don’t need more fighters, we have enough—“

“Your ranks are impressive,” the unit interrupted. “Your brother is an inspiring general. Sector 50, while small and relatively obscure, reports high rates of success on missions. Outside threats are nullified quickly and efficiently. In addition, your robotic fighters have helped minimize human casualties.”

“Yes, that would be thanks to Ivan. Er, Dr. Braginsky.”

“I know. I hope to work with him in the future. Because your sector is in such an elevated state compared to others, the Capitol has sent me to test my abilities to lead in battle. We are hardier than humans, quicker thinkers, and wiser. Unlike simple droids, however, I can adapt in stressful war-time situations. The Capitol wishes to replace human armies with cyborgs within ten years. When the A.I. units are operational, they will phase us out in turn.”

The man nodded, having been briefed on the truth of the Capitol’s program prior to the meeting. “I see. Well, I suppose if it helps save lives, it couldn’t hurt.”

“Of course. In addition to leading humans, I can command the robot units instantly once given control over their subroutines. While General Beilschmidt’s charisma is unmatched, often times, communication between man and robot can be delayed. With me, things will run smoothly.”

“Gilbert won’t like this,” he said, sighing.

“They took his personality into consideration. I do not wish to fight for control, he will still lead. Once my personality unit is restored, you’ll find that we mesh quite well.”

“When will that be?”

The unit’s left eyelid twitched, a small glitch that signified a large data retrieval. He was communicating the simple question with the Capitol, and received much more news than expected. “It has arrived. Mistakenly delivered to Dr. Braginsky, apparently. But, it is no bother. I am to meet him immediately. He has been recently given clearance as to my condition. The Capitol understands that he has been avidly researching A.I. in his free time and would like his opinions. They believe having him work with me will help their own research.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“It is a direct order from the Capitol. They are perfectly aware of his hatred for them, so that shall not be a bother.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “How the hell would you know that?”

“The Capitol knows many things, Dr. Beilschmidt. It has been the seat of power since the war for a reason.”

“And before the war,” he replied darkly.

“Indeed. While operating discretely under a different name at the time, they were very much in power. Why, there’s even a theory that suggests the Capitol started the nuclear war that’s left this world in such shambles as it is now,” he chuckled. “So silly, really.”

Dr. Beilschmidt glared. “Such quips would come across more believably with your personality unit.”

He nodded. “Quite right, I will get that rectified immediately. For your reference, my kill code will be sent to you, Dr. Braginsky, Captain Beilschmidt, and Governor Williams. Governor Williams is in possession of several other optional mods of mine, which you may install at your pleasure.”

“What mods?”

“I am of course unable to injure humans, though this directive has been modified to protect the humans of Sector 50 over any others. Should raiders attack, I can kill them. However, this can be overcome with my defiance unit. There is also a free-will unit, and a more in-depth emotions unit. However, the Capitol believes using these to be a risk. My parts were taken from a pre-war criminal who had been cryogenically preserved in pristine conditions during the fallout. He was hardly violent, just a petty criminal who was chosen for the treatment due to his lack of resources. Still, they think that allowing me my full brain will make me more similar to him.”

“Are you… is your personality… is it him?”

“No, it is different. A promising development for the A.I. team, really. I am not just a clone of the man in a robotic body. I have my own quirks and preferences. However, unlike a true A.I. unit, I am still reliant on orders. Even when I had the defiance and free-will, I could not operate without missions.”

“And the other emotions?”

“I’ve never been given those. They were seen as unnecessary. What use would I have of love and passion and loyalty?”

“Those in the Capitol are just as robotic as these damn computers,” he spat. “I’ll ask the Governor to give you all your parts. Anyway, calling you Unit F-R-thirty is a bit of a mouthful. Do you have another name?”

He nodded. “Most called me Alfred. Alfred Jones, to be specific.”

“Alright, Alfred. You should see Ivan soon, he’s a bit irritable when people are late.”

With a nod, the cyborg left the office and headed down several well-lit halls. He smiled at any who smiled at him, several even giggling and blushing.

Upon arriving at Dr. Braginsky’s office, the door was already open. Inside, the man was pacing, thumbing through several papers. Alfred entered the doorframe and knocked. The engineer glared.

“What?”

“Hello Dr. Braginsky, I am—“

“The new unit? Yes, come in.”

Alfred did so, taking a seat on a plush chair. Ivan shut his door then sat on his desk and surveyed the bot.

“So, Ludwig says you’re not A.I.”

“This is true.”

He laughed. “Good. Then I’ve still got a chance. When I heard that they did it… well, I hoped it wasn’t true. But, I’m glad. Still, they shouldn’t be lying to the people like that. What are you here for?”

“To meet you as well as to get my personality unit installed.”

“Ah, that’s what that odd thing was?” he slid from his seat and walked around to the front of his desk. Opening the top drawer he extracted two tiny, crescent-shaped chips. “Crafty. Sure it’s not A.I.?”

“I’m sure,” he placed his hand in front of his face. With a few finger twitches, his palm opened, revealing not blood or gore, but sleek metal bones. He reworked his hand into a blade, the skin merely folding itself out of view temporarily. He brought the weapon up and stabbed it through his temple. It was long enough that it passed through to the other side completely.

Despite knowing what the unit was, Ivan winced. “Are you alright?”

“Of course. My brain’s bio-operations are superior to a human’s. An advanced healing factor allows for me to recover nearly instantaneously from any injury. In addition, the mechanical parts of my brain can easily be moved for such operations. Now, I need to increase the size of the hole a bit, then I’ll take the part. For your future reference, you should observe where I place it.” The blade expanded outward and twisted, looking like a drill. Ivan felt slightly nauseous.

Still, he followed the cyborg’s commands and handed him the unit before stepping over. He shone a pocket flashlight so he could get a better view of the innards, and he was absolutely impressed. He watched the robot place the part with a long pair of forceps—still his hand, technically—with the precision of a skilled surgeon, even more impressive given that he wasn’t even looking. While Ivan watched, the wound closed up.

The bot shook his head. “Holy shit, dude, that was such a pain!” Turning and extending a normal-looking hand to Ivan, he grinned. “Name’s Alfred. Nice to meet you!”

“Well, you’re certainly outgoing,” he noted, slightly overwhelmed by Alfred’s smile.

“Yeah, so I’ve been told. Think Gilbert and I will get along?”

“Perhaps a bit too well…” Ivan groaned. Here he thought he’d have a brilliant mind with which to share ideas, but instead he just got a total idiot trapped in a superior piece of technology.

Alfred laughed, a hearty sound. He looked fully human in that moment, and Ivan had a hard time believing that he wasn’t, or that he wasn’t at the very least A.I.

“Should you be meeting with Gilbert soon?” Ivan asked, wishing to get back to work.

“Yeah, probably! Hey, you’re kind of cute, did you know that?”

Ivan flushed. “I am engaged. And how can you flirt?” Only sex-bots could do that, and they were programmed to do so, leading to over-the-top lines that tended to embarrass the hearer.

“Aw, lucky man,” Alfred winked. “Anyway, I can flirt because I’m a flirty guy. Make sense?”

“You are a robot.”

“Cyborg, to be exact. Very human at the core, just with a kick-ass synthetic body on top. Pretty sexy, huh?” he flexed.

“I think I preferred the no-personality version better,” Ivan mused.

Alfred frowned. “Oh gosh, don’t say that!” he seemed panicked.

“Are you alright?”

“Well, if you really don’t want it, I can remove it. I can still fulfill my duties without it…”

“But…?” he probed.

“I don’t like being without it… It’s odd. When things happen, I don’t feel more than general impressions, and those are out of habit. I know I should feel more, but I can’t even feel sad or angry that I can’t. It’s stressful… well, it would be, if I could feel stressed. It’s not an experience I’d wish on anyone. I’d been off it for a few months even before the transfer.”

“Don’t worry, I was just joking. You can stay as you are, even if it is slightly annoying,” Ivan said.

“Thanks Ivey!” he grinned.

“Don’t call me that.”

“But it’s cute, just like you!”

Ivan groaned. “Please go to Gilbert before I change my mind.”

He flashed another cheeky grin before darting out the door. Ivan plopped down on his couch with a loud sigh, already fearful for the impending exhaustion that Alfred would bring to their peaceful sector.

Sure enough, over dinner in the dining hall, he could hear Alfred and Gilbert getting along famously, laughing over some surely stupid joke. Ignoring the commotion, Ivan found his fiancé in his usual spot with his friend.

“Good evening, Yao,” he said while sitting across from his lover. He was gifted with a kind smile as Yao reached across the table and took his hand. Before Ivan could greet the other man, Kiku, another tray appeared next to his own.

“Heya, Ivan!” Alfred’s loud voice rang in Ivan’s ear. “This must be the famous fiancé, huh?” He stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you! I’m A.I. F-R-30, but everyone calls me Alfred!” He blinked, immediately taking in all of Yao’s available information. “Yao, isn’t it?”

“Dr. Wang, actually,” Ivan corrected. “He’s in medical, as I’m sure you know. Don’t get on his bad side.”

“Is this the A.I. unit?” Yao asked. He knew that Ivan was passionate about that field and sent Ivan a questioning glance. “They did it then?”

Ivan nodded, keeping up the charade. “Unfortunately. And what they’ve created is a total idiot.”

Alfred pouted. “Hey, I’m perfectly smart, thank you very much! Only getting smarter every second, you know.” He turned his attention to Yao’s friend. “Kiku Honda, correct?”

“Yes, I’m in R&D. Pharmaceuticals, mainly.”

“Oh, sweet. Gil was telling me all about the drugs you guys got! I’ve gotta try it, get the whole human experience, you know?”

“I can’t encourage the use of those _illegal_ enhancers,” Kiku glared. “Half of Gilbert’s soldiers are addicted to them, the other half are completely immune to them! It’s ridiculous, you shouldn’t be dependent on them.”

He pouted. “But they sound so fun! Hell, they can help humans hold their own against bots! The Outsider raiders are improving their tech just as we are, and it won’t be long before they’ve got their own robot army. Why, I think—” he froze.

He stood suddenly, looking off into the distance. His voice lowered, all playfulness gone. “There’s a breech. I need to go.”

As suddenly as he appeared, he was gone, sprinting toward another sector. Ivan looked worriedly at his friends, who only shrugged. He sent a quick message to Ludwig asking if anything was going on. He thought there might be raiders at the perimeter, so headed toward Gilbert. Then, the alarms blared.

People rose and shuffled toward their bunks, but then the blaring ceased. A calm voice came over the speaker and offered a brief explanation.

“Sorry about the noise, folks. Disregard that alarm, everything’s all good down here!” Matthias, the lead nuclear engineer who saw to the upkeep of the reactor that powered their bunker, announced.

Everyone seemed pacified by that and sat back down to resume their interrupted meals. Ivan was still concerned, however, and he lifted his communicator. He had access to pretty much everything, security cameras, live diagnostic reports, and the like. He was scrolling through reactor reports when an urgent message from Ludwig appeared, ordering him to report to the clean lab ASAP.

Ivan was on the scene in minutes, panting lightly from the exertion. In the clean room, he saw Ludwig, donning a hazmat suit, bent over a table. Ivan quickly went through the decontamination process before putting on his own suit and entering.

He was shocked to see Alfred, completely bare and looking burnt on one of the metal gurneys. The cyborg’s breath was raspy, but he still gave commands even in his condition.

“What happened?” Ivan asked.

“The reactor had a breech. I fixed it.”

“The idiot exposed himself to enough radiation to nearly melt his skin off.”

“I’m healing already,” he said. Sure enough, while patches of his skeleton and muscles were showing, those were shrinking rapidly. “I had to take a long path to get here while avoiding too many humans, but those are being cleaned while we speak.”

Ivan blinked. “How on earth could you have done this so quickly? I only saw you a few minutes ago…”

“In emergencies, my body can operate at inhuman speeds. The nuclear energy I harnessed also put my heart on overdrive, so I’m a bit high on that.”

“You harnessed it?”

“Had to enter the reactor’s stage to fix it. Took a lot of it in. My heart’s a mini reactor itself. It’s the only way to power all my machinery.”

“That’s impressive. How long until you’re no longer radioactive?”

He shrugged. “Once I heal, I need to burn off the energy quickly before I’m overloaded. I’ll have to go to the surface and literally sprint it off.”

“Won’t you just be exposed to more radiation?”

Ludwig shook his head. “There’s not a storm today. And besides, even that will be more manageable than what he’s putting out now.”

“Christ,” Ivan sighed. “How will we get you there without exposing people to radiation?”

Alfred seemed to think for a moment, then spoke. “Service elevator 12 should do well. It’s built to handle radiation. To get there, well, I’ll have to put on a clean suit and run there as quick as possible. Even then, the hall and all adjoining should be sealed for the next few days.”

“Christ,” Ivan repeated. “Are Ludwig and I even safe right now?”

“You should probably see Gilbert after this. As much as Kiku hates his drugs, they work well. Biological systems are much easier to manipulate nowadays. There’s a drug that practically erases radiation damage, as well as one that defends against further exposure. As for addiction, there’s even a drug for that!”

“Can’t you use those yourself?”

“Nope, I don’t need it. But, I’m a danger to anyone else at the moment.”

Ludwig thought for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll tell security to clear us a path. It shouldn’t be a problem. Gilbert will meet us there with some of those preventative measures.”

“You don’t have to go up with me,” Alfred insisted. “Could be dangerous.”

“I won’t. Ivan will go.”

“What? Why on earth would you think that that would be a good idea?” he yelled. “I don’t go to the surface, you know that.”

“It’ll only be for a few hours. I need you to survey Alfred.”

“Why can’t literally anyone else go?”

“That’s an order, Ivan,” he said sternly.

The older man grumbled, but accepted his fate.

“Good. Now, I’ll be back. You work on getting Alfred in as airtight a seal as possible.”

“Yessir,” he said.

After Ludwig left for decontamination, Alfred stood from the table, shivering slightly. “Even though I’m producing a shit ton of heat, that table is still way too cold! Horrible patient practice!”

“This isn’t a medical bay. Usually the only bodies that lie on that are dead or made of metal. Now, we’ve got a few options. There’s a pretty solid cryogenic container that’s radiation proof. We wouldn’t freeze you, of course. Oxygen would be limited.”

“Not a problem. The nuclear energy I’ve got is more than enough to power both aspects of my body. I don’t actually need oxygen, it’s just a backup. Respiration also helps me expel excess gases.”

“Do you not need to eat either, then?”

“No, that’s more for fun than anything. When I don’t have a personality or emotions, though, I never do. I don’t find any enjoyment from it, then, you know? But, my taste buds function well enough, and I do love to eat! Of course, like I said, I don’t need it, and then I have to deal with waste.”

Ivan found the mechanics of this creature fascinating. Instead of being disgusted, he was intrigued. “Do you excrete waste as human do?”

“Yup, but only when I eat. My parts that grow old I usually just remove myself.”

“Fascinating. Your biosynthetic liquid and skin… they are very adaptive, it seems. Molding to whatever you will. How is that?”

“Well, the skin is actually real, but it doesn’t flake like a human’s. It doesn’t age or change naturally, instead the cells are imbued with nanonerves, they call them, smaller than the body’s neurons. I can control every cell of my body. It requires a lot of focus and energy, though, so I usually focus on bigger groups, such as muscles.”

“Incredible,” he breathed. And it was. Even if they had failed to produce A.I., they excelled at the marriage of biology and mechanics with this unit. “So, your hair and nails… won’t grow? You won’t change? Get wrinkles or tan perhaps?”

“Nope. I could alter my form should I choose, but I quite like this body,” he struck a pose, reminding Ivan that he was still rather nude.

Ivan blushed. “Ah, we should get you some clothes, I think.”

“You sure, Ivey?” he took a step closer to the other and batted his eyelashes. “You know, every part of me works just as well as any human’s bits. I’m very capable of experiencing pleasures as well as inducing it in others,” he smirked.

Ivan backed away, blushing furiously at the insinuation. “I’m flattered, but I am involved with someone, as I said before. Besides, we don’t even know each other.”

Alfred perked up. “That can easily be resolved with time!” he grinned. Ivan wasn’t sure which of the facts he was referring to, and didn’t want to know. “So, you would if you knew me better and weren’t with Yao?”

“I never said that! I could get to know you and realize that you’re a total asshole, which is pretty likely given our conversations so far!”

Alfred frowned. “You’re so mean! I’m not an asshole! I just saved a good portion of the Sector from dying due to a nuclear meltdown! I’m a hero!”

“You’re a child. How old are you, anyway?”

“Well, I came online about five years ago, but my human cells were around twenty-two years old at the time of freezing.”

“So young,” Ivan mused. “Do you know much about him?”

Alfred’s look darkened. “Why? Do you think I am him? Do you think I hold his memories and experiences? That I’m a charade? I may not be A.I., but I am not Franklin’s intelligence, either. He is gone, I am not him, I am a deviation from him, another entity!”

Ivan held up his hands in an effort to calm the angering cyborg. “I did not mean to offend you, I was only curious. I’m sorry, I won’t bring up those topics again.”

Alfred sighed. “I’m sorry, it’s a bit of a sore point for me. The Capitol scientists had high hopes for me. The brain of Franklin is my base, but it was so altered and neurological connections so spliced up that calling me him would be a fallacy. Still, they often thought of me as nothing more than him, and it is for that reason that I was deemed a failure and sent away.”

“Do you really think you’re not A.I.?”

He shook his head. “It is complicated. I am too biologically based for the name. I do believe they were able to learn a great deal from observing my neurological patterns, however, and will achieve their goals soon.”

“What are you, then?”

He titled his head. “I… I have not been asked that before. For so long, others have placed the labels on me. They never seemed to fit, though. I suppose, I _feel_ like I am human, even if I was brought about in this way. However, my body is not limited as you are, nor is my mind. My software is forever expanding, and my capacity for data is nearly infinite. Cyborg is the technical term, but I think we are more human than they give us credit for.”

Ivan nodded. “You are already so… human-like, even without your full capacities. It’s incredible. And your body’s technology… I’d love to take a look at it, if you’d let me.”

It was Alfred’s turn to blush—such a human expression, appearing flawlessly on his visage. “Ivan, you should ask a man to dinner first!”

“I didn’t mean like that! I just meant… we could work together in the lab. Er, your functions would be highly coveted in medical. They’d love to mimic your healing factor in some way, perhaps learn about your neuronal programming for our own prostheses…”

Alfred laughed. “I’m only teasing! We can totally work together when I’m not busy with missions on the surface. What do you have against going up there, anyway? It’s been nearly a century, the fallout’s much more bearable now. Your sector is pretty safe, no raiders for miles.”

He shrugged. “It’s a personal matter, I’m sorry. Maybe I’ll tell you another time.”

Alfred smiled softly. “Okay, sounds fair. When we get to know each other, right? As friends?”

“Work partners,” Ivan corrected. Alfred stuck out his lower lip and sniffed, a childish attempt at begging. Ivan rolled his eyes. “Fine, friends.”

“Awesome!” he cheered.

There was a sliding noise behind them, and Ludwig was returned with his brother in tow. Gilbert whistled.

“Damn, Alfred, that’s a good look for you!” he said with a wink.

“Glad someone can appreciate my hot bod!”

“Why is he still naked?” Ludwig asked, annoyed. “Have you two even done anything since we’ve left?”

“Yeah, did you get to know our newest recruit, Braginsky?” Gilbert grinned wolfishly. “They’re both so red, I wonder what happened?”

“Shut up, Gilbert,” Ludwig reprimanded. “Where is a suit? We should hurry.”

“I think we should place him in a cryo pod. We can use a dolly to wheel him out easily enough. It’ll be a bit slower than him running to the elevator, but I think there’ll be even less radiation leakage to worry about.”

Ludwig nodded. “Good idea. Still, he’ll need clothes. There may be some extra lab clothes in the back, I’ll be right back.”

“So,” Gilbert said after his brother was out of earshot. “How’s Yao, Ivan?”

He glared. “He’s fine. We’re fine.”

“Really? I heard he was pissed at how much time you were spending in the lab.”

“That isn’t any of your business,” he growled.

“Guys,” Alfred tried to diffuse the situation. “Let’s calm down. Gilbert, do you have the radiation drug for him?”

“Oh yeah, sure thing!” he unclipped a bag from his hip and tossed it to Ivan. Inside a sealed bag were several pen-shaped devices. Ivan knew he only had to jam the needled end into his skin for the drug to enter his system. Of course, there was the matter of his suit. He couldn’t very well take it off, nor could he poke the needle through the material, as that would defeat the purpose. Alfred seemed to sense his question.

“Ludwig and Gilbert will take me to the elevator. After I’m gone, you’ll decontaminate as normal and then take the medicine. You’ll get a new suit before going to the surface. The odds of you suffering from toxic levels of radiation are less than point-oh-one percent.”

“Why do you get to go?” Gilbert whined.

“That’s a good question. Ludwig’s orders.”

“Orders from the Capitol,” Ludwig said, returning with a shirt and slacks for Alfred. He quickly threw them on, his muscles straining the white fabric slightly. “They wish for you two to remain together as much as possible.”

“Trying to keep an eye on me?” Ivan glared.

“Ivan…” Ludwig warned.

“They want you to figure me out and send your findings to them, if you have any.”

“Why would I help them?”

“The Capitol is already in possession of your research, this is more of a formality. Any discoveries you make will be credited to you.”

“As if I care for their laurels.”

“They respect your intellect.”

“They sure respected me when they banned me from the Capitol, where my family still lives!” he yelled. Ludwig and Gilbert winced at the outburst. “They kicked me out years ago for researching the very thing they claim you are!”

“Ivan,” Alfred said calmly. “I understand the animosity you hold for the Capitol. However, for everyone’s sake, it would be best to follow their commands for now.”

“What do you care?” he spat.

“I care that you are upset. I care that they wronged you. I also care that I am struggling to contain a small warhead’s worth of nuclear radiation, which is at present a more pressing problem.”

Ludwig started. “Right. Follow me to the pod, Alfred. Gilbert, come with us. Fifteen minutes after we leave, decontaminate and immunize yourself, Ivan.”

He nodded numbly, sitting back on the cold table while the others prepared Alfred. He calmed down in seconds, slightly embarrassed at even losing control of his temper in the first place. It had been many years since he’d been forced from the Capitol, after all, and he’d made his peace with it. He knew at least that his family was safe, even if he couldn’t speak with them. Besides, if he hadn’t come to Sector 50, he never would’ve met and fallen in love with Yao, so it wasn’t all misery.

He waved at the trio as they exited, Ludwig and Gilbert struggling slightly with the heavy cylinder but otherwise fine. As instructed, he waited before leaving and removing his suit. He wasn’t one for the drugs used by the scouts and fighters, as his desk job was safe and comfortable. There had been a few late nights when he’d used a more powerful shot for focus or wakefulness in order to meet a deadline, but those were a bit more mainstream drugs with minimal side effects. Ivan’s main opposition to the drugs stemmed from the fact that he believed them to have been invented by the Capitol in order to subdue subjects further. Of course, it was only a theory, and he knew he tended to think the worst of their government, so he shrugged off his doubts and jammed the needles into his thigh.

He didn’t expect to feel any different, so he could only hope that the drugs were working. He exited the decontamination chamber and threw on a new clean suit before heading down several halls and stairwells to the elevator. His communication unit projected the path that Ludwig had transmitted during his short reprieve, and he ascended to the surface alone.

They were at least a mile outside the Sector’s walls, he noted. It was dark, but not too much that he couldn’t see. The cloud cover was minimum, and he found himself staring openly at the most beautiful sunset he’d seen in years.

In the distance, he saw a large amount of dust. He assumed that Alfred was there, burning off his excess energy. Without much to do as he wasn’t even close enough to observe the cyborg, Ivan walked toward the walls, choosing to get in some light exercise for himself.

Sector 50’s walls were impressive and well-lit. There were tall oaks around the perimeter, placed more for aesthetics than anything. None were tall enough to provide enemies convenient access to the walls, of course. Ivan preferred life in the expansive bunker than life on the surface. Those who lived within the walls were common settlers, laypeople, simple service robots, as well as the public officials such as Governor Williams. Gilbert also kept his base of operations up top, though he did come down to the expansive bunker often for he claimed the food was better.

The bunker itself was expansive, almost three times as large as the surface city. It was there were the reactor was housed that powered the Sector and where research was conducted. The facilities were cleaner than the surface which, while much less irradiated than years past, still had dangerous levels during storms. At those times, the bunker was packed with the evacuated citizens until the storm passed. Ivan always hated those times, preferring his space as well as familiar faces.

Yao used to work on the surface doing routine check-ups, but he had moved below ground due to his expertise in surgery. He specialized in prosthetic work and many of Gilbert’s soldiers had him to thank for their regained functionality. Ivan and Yao had met only a year before while designing a large prosthetic—the woman had retained only that which was above her waist—and got along famously. Both were far from popular in their own departments as they tended to become fully engrossed in projects and were a bit too callous with their peers, but they understood each other and got along well. Ivan had been the first to suggest taking their friendship further, and Yao agreed. They’d been engaged for less than a month and had their own problems, but what couple didn’t?

Both men were very jealous, and understandably so. Yao had been involved with another man when he’d met Ivan, and refused to break things off even when they started dating. They had started as an affair, and Ivan, while slightly guilty, didn’t lose too much sleep over it. Still, he saw how dismissive Yao was of his old lover’s feelings, and always feared the man would do the same to him.

Yao also grew tired of Ivan’s aloofness. He understood being passionate about work, but Ivan would often clock twenty-hour workdays. In addition, he was always going on about some conspiracy or other, vehemently preaching against the Capitol. Yao didn’t mind the power structure at all, as his father was a prominent governmental figure in one of the major Sectors. The couple butted heads over such talks often, with Ivan hating how Yao could be so blind and Yao hating how Ivan could be so paranoid.

Most looked at the couple and saw dysfunctionality; none thought they could last. Of course, with their combined stubbornness, they were determined to see things through, even if lately they only fought during the few hours they got to spend together in private.

By the time Ivan returned to Alfred, the cyborg was lying on the ground, looking exhausted.

“Are you better?” he called out from a distance.

“Yes, my Geiger counter is registering healthy levels. It’s safe to approach, if you wish.”

Ivan did, walking towards and then plopping down next to Alfred. “Where’d you go?” the blond asked.

“Just walked around a bit. I hadn’t exercised in a while, so I thought it would be good for me.”

Alfred nodded. “Your average caloric consumption does tend to be higher than what you expend.”

He raised a brow. “Are you calling me fat?”

Alfred laughed. “Of course not, you are merely possessing excess energy. How could that be a negative thing? Unless you’re like me and your excess energy is in the form of radiation, that is.”

“Should we head back down?”

“Give me a moment. I may have burned too much off in my desire to clear up my system.”

“Are you well?”

“Yes. I’ll need to eat something when we get back, however. And my leg muscles could use some rest.”

“Do you sleep?”

Alfred shook his head. “Not in the conventional way. If my bio systems were unaltered, then I would need it. However, given their rapid healing abilities, I only need to rest after periods of high stress. My brain and attached circuitry also do not require it. However, it has been a long time since I’ve truly slept. When I choose to, I relocate all my data into long-term storage, filing it appropriately. I could do it while awake, but seeing all the memories can be distracting, so for everyone’s safety, I lay down and shut off my muscles for it.”

“I see. Were you not asleep during the transfer?” It was a three days’ drive to the Capitol, longer if raiders were around.

“I was suspended temporarily. My mind was fully awake, though not existing merely in my body. In fact, up until I awoke in Sector 50, my consciousness was still in the Capitol, downloading appropriate data and orders.”

“Consciousness?” Ivan asked.

“It’s the simplest way to describe it, I think.”

“Where are you staying?”

“I will have accommodations on the surface for now. Governor Williams has offered me a spot in his home.”

“That’s very kind of him,” Ivan observed. While he was wary of all government agents, he did like the mild-mannered man, mainly because he didn’t act like a puppet. He frowned, realizing that Alfred’s presence in the home could have another purpose. “Are you spying on him, as well?”

“I wouldn’t call it spying, but by your definition, I suppose I am. However, the Capitol loves Mr. Williams. His is a unique success story. He has defied them, but it has been effective. The Sector is happy with him, and the Capitol only wishes for her people to be happy.”

Ivan doubted that. “You are very open with your intentions. Why is that?”

“You have full clearance to my data banks. Besides, my ultimate directive is to not harm humans. I also cannot lie.”

“Unless the Capitol programs you to lie.”

Alfred nodded. “I suppose. But, they are purists. You may distrust them, but they do not wish to create corrupt robots. Seeing as I was originally purposed to be A.I., they wanted me to be truly independent. Even though they failed, I am still free to act as I wish in many regards. Well, I am when I have my free will and defiance modules installed.”

“When you have those, do you really trust them? Knowing all that they’ve done?”

He smiled softly. “Trust is a human emotion that I cannot experience. I operate based on probability. With them, the probability of fulfilling my objective is high, so I estimate that following them is wise.”

“They are murderers.”

“I can be, too. They do program most of their bots with a blind patriotism, but mine is more complex. They’ve experimented with designing perfect leadings minds, you know, as well as bots that judge their decisions made throughout history.”

This was news to Ivan. Alfred continued. “The Capitol and what it was before has made mistakes. They are humans. Their mistakes however have been within the limits of human reasoning, so they have not been judged too harshly by my kind. Their efficiency given the circumstances is impressive. While we would’ve acted differently, they acted well enough.”

“They ended the world.”

“And yet the world lives on with a new order. All the people are fed, educated, and healthy.”

“Tell that to those permanently disfigured by radiation exposure, or those living outside of the settlements.”

“Humans care too much for looks. It takes so much energy for me to maintain my smile and appearance, all for the sake of getting you all to like me. So silly. As for the others, the Capitol wishes for all Outsiders to join us. On the other hand, even those who speak against the Capitol and their politics are given safe passage to join the ranks of the enemy should they wish. Political discourse is highly encouraged.”

Ivan shook his head, no longer wishing to debate on the subject. “Anyway, are you feeling fine? You sound a bit… robotic. No offense.”

“None taken. I will admit, the personality module is one of my more complex pieces. It takes a good deal of energy to operate, and since I am lacking in that regard, it is less pronounced. It is similar to a human being ‘grumpy’ when they are tired. You have been gazing into the distance, so surely haven’t noticed that I haven’t blinked, twitched, or even moved my mouth this whole time. These ‘human-like’ quirks are for show only, and I don’t have to do them when I don’t need to, or shouldn’t, in this case.”

Ivan glanced at the cyborg and saw how still he was. His mouth was opened slightly, presumably to allow his speech unhindered release. It was odd to see Alfred shift into a more natural state. He twitched his nose and rubbed his eyes with his hands, even yawned for effect.

“I hadn’t noticed,” Ivan said. “You enjoy your personality, don’t you? Is this low energy state… painful for you?”

He nodded. “A wise observation. Yes, though painful may not be the right word. I merely do not like it.”

“Alright, let’s get you some food then.” Ivan stood, brushing red dust from his suit. He reached toward Alfred out of politeness. The cyborg smiled at the unnecessary gesture, though accepted it nonetheless. They walked toward the elevator platform which had long since been covered by blowing dust, but Alfred was able to pinpoint its location with ease.

They were quiet on the long trip down, as both were tired. After a quick cleaning, Ivan followed Alfred to the mess hall where the cyborg promptly swallowed an inhuman amount of fatty and sugary foods. It was impressive if a little off-putting, but Ivan only watched in fascination.

Alfred burped, long and loud, then leaned back slightly, smiling while patting his stomach. “Damn, that was good! I feel much better!”

“That was a quick turn-around,” he observed.

“Of course. My body processes foreign objects much more quickly than yours. Food becomes usable energy instantly. Unfortunately, the waste producing process is also rather quick. Where’s the restroom in this joint?” Ivan pointed towards the back, and Alfred hopped up, bounding toward the room with gusto.

After their exchange, both retired to their separate rooms, with Alfred heading towards the Governor’s personal lift to the surface and Ivan going to the medical unit’s pods to visit Yao. Unfortunately, his lover was too tired to deal with the other, so he was promptly kicked out. With a sigh, he trudged to his meager pod, not even taking off his day clothes before throwing himself onto the plush bed and falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

When next Ivan saw Alfred, the cyborg was in dire need of repairs. The man had been awoken by an urgent alert on his comm unit from Ludwig requesting his assistance. Without any other information, Ivan rolled out of bed, said a quick goodbye to a waking Yao, and ran to the lab.

Alfred waved his uninjured arm at Ivan and smiled. His other arm—what was left of it, anyway—was draped across his lap. From his open shoulder, red fluid was oozing, though it appeared more viscous than conventional blood.

“What the hell did you do?” Ivan asked as he approached the patient.

“We stumbled upon a pack of Beasts,” he explained. “We couldn’t outrun them, so we had to fight. Luckily, no humans were lost.”

“How many were there?” Beasts were notoriously hard to kill; it was common practice to run like hell on the off chance that one was encountered. A pack could make quick work of a small army.

“Six. Four of them were still pretty young, so they weren’t too difficult to subdue. The mother, though, she got me good,” he gestured toward his arm. “It was nasty to get it back after the fight, too. Her second stomach was already rotting.”

“Couldn’t we have built you another one?” Ivan asked.

“Compatibility could be an issue. The Capitol would have my head if I lost any of their tech, too. I’m a pretty expensive piece of machinery. It looks pretty mangled, but I can fix it.”

“Do you need our help?” Ivan was more than ready to get back to bed.

He shook his head. “Technically no, but Dr. Beilschmidt wants me to teach you more about my body since you work with prosthetic design.”

“I’d like for us to make use of this technology. He can tell you how it all works, I’m sure,” Ludwig explained.

Ivan sighed. “Very well.”

“I’ll also need some more biofluid. I can make my own, but the rate is too slow. I’m a bit… drained, actually.”

“I’m not sure we have what you need,” Ivan confessed. “We aren’t very well equipped for anything so complex. The Capitol should’ve sent you with spare parts.”

He nodded. “I’ve placed an order, so hopefully we won’t have this problem in the future. In the meantime, three units of type O blood should suffice.”

“Human blood?”

“Of course. My fuel cells are biological in nature. My ‘blood’ is very similar to yours, though richer in chemical energy and capable of superior functioning. Until I replenish my fluids, I’ll be a bit more sluggish, but other than that perfectly healthy.”

“I’ll contact Medical,” Ludwig said. “You two can get to work.”

“Yessir!” Alfred lifted his limp arm and saluted with it.

After Ludwig left to pick up the blood, Alfred slid from his seat and placed his arm on the table. With a few blinks, he seemed to have completed his analysis. Waving over a computer screen, he pulled up the diagnostic report for Ivan to see.

“Right above the elbow is where she bit down, so there’s a lot of damage there.”

“Is the socket alright?”

“Yes. I’m designed with a number of break-points which are primarily located at my joints. Even though it looks gruesome, it operated perfectly.”

“I see. So, how do you repair this? Can you communicate with the cells when they’re detached?”

He shook his head. “If I had my full strength I could. For now, we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.” A helper bot rolled to his side and offered a tray of surgical tools. “Thanks,” he said. The bot beeped happily.

Ivan merely observed, only helping when asked. Even with just one hand, Alfred was an adept machinist. His movements were precise and coordinated. Between cleaning and restructuring the muscles and nerves, he chatted idly, asking Ivan about his day and talking about the mission.

Alfred seemed quite taken with the surface world, finding it much livelier than life in the bunker. It had only been a few days since he’d moved into the Governor’s home, yet he was already quite popular thanks in part to Gilbert’s insistence on taking him to the bar every night. He was usually in the company of the other soldiers or Mr. Williams, though he regretted not coming to Robotics more often. He said that until he was fully healed, he’d be off patrols for a few days, and he planned to spend his free time with Ivan.

Ludwig returned with the blood bags just as Alfred was closing up his arm. As instructed, Ivan brought the arm into position while Alfred flexed his shoulder. The skin seemed to come to life, with the two pieces drawing closer to each other like magnets. There was a loud clanking sound, and Alfred rolled his shoulder, smiling with satisfaction at a job well done. He reached out and took one of the offered blood bags. Ivan moved to pass him a syringe, but froze when Alfred bit through the plastic and started slurping up the liquid.

Both he and Ludwig paled at the sight, but Alfred didn’t seem to notice. He finished the pint in seconds, smacking his red lips loudly.

“What the fuck?” Ivan finally said. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged. “It’s the quickest way to get this in me.”

“Won’t you… digest it?”

“My stomach will recognize that it’s not food and filter it accordingly. My organs are smart, remember?”

“Oh, right… Still… it’s a bit unsettling.”

Alfred tilted his head. “Ah, yes. I apologize. You are all used to blood though, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but this is a bit… morbid, to say the least.”

Alfred mulled over the words while grabbing the next pack. This he bit into more slowly, taking daintier sips. “Is it better when I’m slower?”

“I don’t think _how_ you drink the blood matters much,” Ivan groaned. “It’s more that you look like a vampire, or something.”

“Vampire?” he smiled, his white teeth tinged pink. “Now that’s a pretty dated reference. Pre-war folklore, isn’t it?”

Ivan had grown up rather privileged and had had access to older books from before the war. While his passion in math and engineering had manifested itself early on, he still had a certain fondness for the written word. He thought it was enjoyable to imagine a world before nuclear devastation, and had a hidden romantic side that few saw. He had been able to keep a few texts before being shuttled away to Sector 50, though he kept those hidden since they were illegal to possess.

“I don’t recall any vampire stories being on the Capitol’s list of approved pre-war novels,” he raised a brow. Ludwig glanced between them, worried for his friend’s safety, but Alfred’s eyes twinkled with humor. “I hope you read some of the authentic stuff, not the more modern attempts at the horror genre.”

Ivan nodded. “I only ever read _Dracula_. Hardly my favorite book, but the idea of blood-sucking humanoid creatures was fascinating.”

“There were animals that consumed blood too, before the war. Bats, bugs… apparently they were quite a nuisance with spreading disease. Thankfully they’re not a problem anymore.”

“Yes, thank goodness for the nuclear genocide saving us from mosquitoes,” Ivan rolled his eyes.

Alfred laughed. “So you know about them, that’s good. I wonder what other secrets you’re hiding in that brain of yours.”

“The Capitol could always cut it out and examine it,” he joked. “Make me into a cyborg too.”

“That’s not a bad idea. I may be biased, but I think it’s pretty fun. I look good, know a shit ton of stuff, and am perfectly strong enough to destroy all the pathetic meat bags known as humans.” He blinked. “Oops, did I say that out loud?”

Ivan laughed, recognizing that Alfred wasn’t being serious. Ludwig grumbled something about weird humor before leaving them to chat, heading back to his home on the surface.

Ivan was feeling rather awake and so decided to walk Alfred to the lift. They talked of banned books, with Alfred offering to print any number of stories for Ivan. He had access to a near limitless and uncensored library, and said it wouldn’t be any trouble at all. Extremely grateful and flustered, Ivan tripped over his words; he didn’t want to be too obtrusive and ask for specific titles, and he was a bit embarrassed to ask for his preferred genre. Sensing his unease, Alfred offered him a comforting—though a bit too powerful—pat on the back.

“Don’t worry about it, dude. Think of it as a ‘thanks’ for putting up with me! I’ll get you a good mix of genres, then you let me know which you like best.”

Ivan nodded, “Ah, yes, that sounds good. Thank you.”

“Sure thing. You seem like a big softie, to be honest! I’ll get you some Jane Austen. You’ll love her stuff.”

“What does she write about?”

“Romance during the 18th century. Fascinating social critique. Of course, it may be hard to understand given your lack of knowledge of the period. No worries, though, I can answer any questions you have!”

“Thank you. Again. Do you have a favorite novel?”

He tilted his head. “Hmm… I don’t know. I’ve read so many, it’s hard to pick one. I think I prefer movies.”

“Movies?” Ivan raised a brow.

“Not the ones we have today, of course. Those are all just Capitol propaganda. Before the war, they used movies to tell stories. People acted out the characters; it was a huge industry.” He sighed. “The evolution of artistic expression before the war was inspired, really. It’s a shame how little it’s appreciated these days. Everyone’s only working to survive in this wasteland, and no one cares about writers or artists. Pretty pictures won’t protect you from raiders, and nice words can’t shelter your family from radioactive storms, I suppose.”

“The Capitol would be disappointed that one of their bots wants nothing more than to be a starving poet,” Ivan chuckled. Alfred smiled, joining in on the laughter.

“Well, I should get going. The Governor’s probably worried sick about me. I’ll visit you tomorrow, bring you your first book, okay?”

Ivan nodded. “See you then. Have a good night. Or, morning. Whatever it is right now.”

With a lazy wave, Alfred stepped into the lift and shut the door. Ivan watched the metal cylinder shoot upward then turned and headed home.

When Ivan returned to his pod, Yao was gone. He’d left a short note saying that he had to get to work and had made some breakfast for Ivan should he want it. Smiling, he opened the fridge and found several of the promised steamed buns. They were still warm enough that he didn’t need to heat them up, so he enjoyed them while reclining on his bed.

After a quick nap, he headed to work. It was a boring day, to say the least. It left him feeling just as robotic as, well, the robots he worked to build every day. Even his meal with Yao was dull; he felt like they merely replayed the same conversation every time they met, both of them complaining about work being boring or some coworker being an idiot.

He was broken from his monotonous routine when Alfred came into his office the next day, bright smile on his face and dressed in casual surface clothes. The look suited him well, Ivan thought, though he wasn’t given a lot of time to take it in fully before Alfred shoved a crudely bound stack of papers in his face.

“ _Pride and Prejudice_ for my handsomest patron!” he said.

“I’m your only patron,” Ivan said, taking the text and thumbing through it—it was certainly thicker than anything he had smuggled.

“Take the compliment, dude.” While Ivan surveyed the book, Alfred hopped up onto his desk and made himself comfortable. Ivan only raised a brow, not caring enough to shoo him away.

Ivan read the first paragraph and already found himself a bit confused. Alfred had been right in guessing that Ivan wasn’t well-educated on the social sciences. Pre-war history wasn’t emphasized in schools. He voiced this and Alfred was quick to give him a very thorough explanation, zooming through centuries and revolutions in minutes while Ivan struggled to keep up.

Despite presenting just the facts, Alfred’s opinions were easily understood from his expressions. Ivan wasn’t sure if they’d designed him to be so dramatic in order to be more lifelike, or if it was just a part of his personality, though he was starting to think it was the latter.

While Alfred spiritedly debated himself on the merits of Maoist revisionist thought, Ivan laughing at his jocular commentary, the engineer’s door opened. The pair stopped, smiles falling as a clearly irate Yao glared at them.

“Yao,” Ivan stood. “Is everything alright?”

“Do you know what time it is?”

“Um…” he glanced at his wrist and noted the surprisingly late hour—had they really been talking that long? He’d nearly missed his lunch break. “Sorry?”

“That’s my fault, Dr. Wang. I can go on for hours. I didn’t mean to hold him up,” Alfred said sheepishly.

Yao huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You missed our lunch date. I assumed it was for work but then Ludwig said he heard you laughing in your office. Sorry to bother you when you’re having so much fun with Alfred,” he spat.

“Yao,” he sighed. “I’m sorry I missed lunch. But, we eat pretty much every meal together anyway. It’s not really a date when we just meet at the mess hall. And Alfred and I were just talking. I’ve been assigned to him, remember?”

“Well, if you’re more interested in your _assignment_ than in spending time with your fiancé, fine!” Before he could respond, Yao stormed out of the office. With a sigh, Ivan offered an apologetic look to Alfred.

“I’m going to follow him and sort this out. He’s not the type to blow up like that over something so silly. I wonder what’s wrong with him.”

Alfred shrugged. Though he’d only interacted with Yao briefly, he knew a lot about the man. Beyond just biographical information, Alfred was quick to pick up on everyone’s unique biological cues. By analyzing skin temperature, scent, sweat levels, he could accurately estimate the person’s corresponding emotional state. He knew what ticks people had when they were nervous, angry, or sad. When Ivan was stressed, he tended to fiddle with things—he almost always had a pencil on hand that he would spin idly. A quick glance through past security footage and he knew that Yao tended to run when angry, holing himself in his room and refusing to talk to anyone till he calmed down.

He tilted his head, confused with a live recording of Yao not heading toward his pod, but stomping through the halls toward R&D. Files on the staff were pulled up, and he remembered the man’s good friend Mr. Honda from his first day in the bunker. Very similar scents, those too. Almost too similar, in fact. Even Ivan didn’t smell so strongly of Yao. He sniffed the air to double check the data, and nodded to himself.

“Are you alright?” Ivan asked, noticing Alfred’s quizzical look. “Did you hear what I said?”

“You wish to comfort Dr. Wang. I believe that would be unwise for now, at least until he calms down a bit. Surely he’ll realize the foolishness of his assumption, and you can talk about things with level heads.”

“I don’t know, he seemed really upset…” Ivan ran his hand through his hair.

“I would estimate only a thirteen percent chance of a successful interaction should you talk to him at this time.”

“Really? Sounds unlucky. Alright. I’ll see him tonight, I’m sure.”

“Want to get lunch then?”

He shrugged. “I’m not all that hungry, actually.”

Alfred did a quick scan and frowned. “Your glucose levels suggest otherwise. You should eat.”

“You can tell just by looking at me?”

“My biometric scanners are top of the line,” he smiled. “It’s a shame Dr. Wang doesn’t like me much, I could be of great use in Medical. But, it’s also useful in patrol or battle situations to give quick diagnoses to soldiers.”

“That’s impressive. Most robots require at least a probe of some sort. And I apologize for Yao. I’m not sure why he is so jealous. If anyone has any right to be suspicious, it should be me.”

Alfred raised a brow. “Do you suspect him of something?”

He shook his head. “No, forget I said anything. Let’s head to the dining hall.”

The walk was quiet, both seemingly trapped in their own minds. On Alfred’s insistence, Ivan got some soup and a large salad as well as a glass of milk. Once seated, they fell into easier conversation once again, but Ivan was still slightly reticent.

Alfred sighed, fiddling with his fried potatoes. He pondered bringing up the topic of Yao again, but predicted an unfavorable result. Instead, he rambled on about long-lost countries and foods. To his delight, it seemed to do the trick in perking Ivan up, and within an hour, he was smiling again.

On their walk to the lift, they were surprised to bump into Yao and Kiku. Ivan’s fiancé offered a quick apology for his tantrum as well as accusing the pair of doing anything. Alfred smiled charmingly, happy that the problem was resolved for the time. Ivan said his goodbyes to Alfred then took Yao’s hand and headed toward Medical.

Alone with Kiku, Alfred weighed his options. The evidence was clear to his scanners, and he didn’t wish to see Ivan unhappy. He was a good man, and they were friends, after all. And yet, he had no desire to harm Yao or Kiku, either. But, would a confrontation make things worse for Ivan? he wondered.

“Are you alright?” Kiku asked. Alfred smiled, his decision made.

“I would recommend that you and Dr. Wang cease your affair as soon as possible.”

Before blood could rise to his cheeks, Alfred felt the spike in temperature, a rise in adrenaline. The man was angry. But, he masked it well, much better than most people could. “I am insulted that you would insinuate that anything is going on between me and my friend.”

“Was it an insinuation? I thought it plenty clear. You and Dr. Wang are involved in a sexual relationship. Dr. Wang however is very much engaged to Ivan. I am friends with Ivan and don’t wish to see him hurt. If he is happy with Yao, I want him to remain with him. Your interference in this matter is unneeded.”

Kiku glared. “You have no proof.”

“I do.”

“Is this a threat?”

“I cannot threaten human lives, of course. However, while I cannot physically hurt you or hinder you in any way, should any harm come to Ivan because of this, there will be consequences.”

“If he finds out, he’ll be devastated. You wouldn’t do that to him.”

“You’re right, I don’t want it to come to that. But, if there’s nothing to report, then there’s no problem, is there? That’s why it’s imperative that you end things with Yao.”

Kiku sighed. “It’s not that simple. We love each other.”

“Then have him break up with Ivan instead of dragging him along like this. Aren’t you offended that he has you both?”

Kiku shrugged. “I know where his heart lies. Things between them were never meant to last.”

Alfred frowned. “Ivan will be hurt. Why would you do this to him? Aren’t you friends? Does Yao even care for him?”

“I don’t need to explain myself to a program. Mind your business from now on,” Kiku spat, brushing past the cyborg before continuing down the hall. Alfred sighed. Even if his mind was human, his programming prevented him from harboring thoughts of betrayal or cheating. He couldn’t fathom how humans could act so callously toward their fellow man.

His ride to the surface was dull, and his thoughts were insufferable. He hadn’t experienced such a moral dilemma in his existence. Sure, they’d drilled him with hypothetical battle situations where he had to choose who to save and who to kill, and yet those were nowhere near as difficult as what he was dealing with. On the one hand, he wanted Ivan to stay with Yao since Ivan was happy with him. Removing Kiku from the sector was an option, he could easily order the man to be transferred elsewhere. But, Kiku and Yao were also humans, equal in standing to Ivan. Their well-being mattered as well.

The human part of him argued that Ivan was more important to him, so it would be fine for him to disregard the other two’s feelings. His programming was quick to flag that opinion as improper.

He could tell Ivan, but then the man would be sad; perhaps he’d even be angry with Alfred. But, if he discovered the truth and then that Alfred had known… Alfred knew all of the common tropes from movies and shows of years past. His conundrum was a common storyline, and yet even with all that knowledge, he couldn’t predict which choice would be right.

Of course, he reminded himself, labeling decisions as purely right or wrong was a narrow way of thinking. Humanity was much more complex than that, as any study of history revealed.

Not yet having reached a decision, he arrived at the Governor’s home. He presented his clearance before entering the lavish foyer.

He was surprised to find Mr. Williams in the living room, cuddled up with General Beilschmidt. He wasn’t so much surprised at the affection, since he knew of their blossoming romance, but at the hour. Usually the Governor was completely booked with meetings until dinner time.

“Alfred!” Gilbert rose quickly, blushing. “What are you doing here?”

Mr. Williams was much more level-headed. “Are you feeling better?”

“My hardware is perfectly operational. I estimate a full recovery by the end of the week.”

“That’s good. You seem a bit down. Everything okay?”

Alfred was always impressed with the other man’s natural talent for reading people. “I’ve run into a bit of a problem. I’m not quite sure what to do.”

“Some A.I.,” Gilbert joked. “What’s up?”

He tilted his head. “I’m not sure if sharing this information will help. I don’t want everyone to know and for any rumours to start.”

“You don’t have to give any names,” the Governor suggested. “But, don’t do it if you don’t want to.”

“Well, maybe you can help. Person A and B are in a relationship. But, Person B is having an affair with Person C. Should I tell Person A? Or let things fall as they may. I don’t want anyone to be hurt.”

Matthew nodded. “That’s tough. Well, I’d probably tell them, personally.”

“No way! You’ve just gotta let that kinda shit work itself out. Don’t even go near it.”

Alfred frowned. “I cannot avoid them so easily. I only want everyone happy.”

“Damn cheaters. They’re the worst,” Gilbert declared.

“It’s kind that you are taking the other two into consideration, but if they are in the wrong, it’s okay to be a little harsh.”

“It’s against my nature to think that way,” he shook his head. “I think I will wait for a bit. More likely than not I will tell Person A. They deserve to know the truth.”

“When you tell them, invite them to the bar with us! We can show them a good time,” Gilbert insisted.

Alfred laughed. “Are you going again tonight?”

“Probably. I’m trying to convince Mattie to come, too!”

Matthew rolled his eyes and smiled. “You two live at the bar, I swear! We’ll see how I feel after my nap.”

“Do you not have any meetings today?” Alfred asked.

“I cancelled them. Felt like taking a personal day. But then _someone_ ,” he nudged Gilbert playfully. “Had to interrupt my peace.”

“I made your day better, don’t be ridiculous!” Gilbert pouted. Matthew kissed his cheek softly and grinned while the soldier blushed.

Alfred smiled at the pair. Scanning them was like reading a love story—all the biological signs were in order. Their chemicals showed their affection more accurately even than their sappy, lovesick looks. They were happy, he knew, and it made him happy to be around them. He was astounded at the amazing compatibility between two very different personalities. While they’d only been dating for a few months, he had high faith that they would last.

Love was such an interesting chemical shit-show, he thought to himself with a smile. It could completely destroy a person, and yet it could bloom and bring them happiness never before experienced. It was illogical and yet a biological imperative. All humans deserved a chance to find it, he thought. Perhaps Yao and Kiku were meant to be, and perhaps Ivan could love another. Alfred smiled at the thought; he truly did wish to see all of his human charges as well off as possible. It was his duty, after all, to ensure life and happiness for those loyal to the Capitol.

Alfred and Matthew both ended up at the bar that night, and Alfred was amazed at the tall man’s tolerance. He got to know his housemate a bit better, and they stumbled home together with arms around shoulders, singing old anthems and giggling at everything. Alfred helped the man to bed before heading to his own room.

He couldn’t get drunk as his body was too quick to filter the ethanol before its intoxicating effects could occur. To him, drinking alcohol was like consuming water—which he also didn’t need to do. Gilbert had been impressed the first night when Alfred was able to knock back shot after shot, but from then on refused to pay for his friend. Alfred usually just didn’t drink since the liquor was a bit expensive. He still enjoyed the social experience, and it was amusing to watch other’s make fools of themselves. Should he choose, he could alter his receptors slightly in order to mimic the effects of drunkenness, but he preferred to keep his wits about him instead.

He got an early start to his day the next morning, getting his daily report from the Capitol and sending in his own diagnostics. His biofluid was on its way to the Sector, for which he was grateful, and they were also sending him his requested binding kit. Thankfully, they didn’t ask him why he wanted it.

After printing off another book for Ivan, he made the trek to the bunker. The man was in his office, as expected, though he looked sickly.

“Are you okay?” Alfred asked. “You look like you didn’t sleep.”

“I’m fine,” Ivan said. “I stayed up all night reading, actually. Yao was pretty annoyed, but I just couldn’t put it down!”

“Glad to hear it,” Alfred smiled. “But, you shouldn’t sacrifice your sleep! Did you finish it?”

“I did. I like her writing, I think.”

“She’s got more, so don’t worry. How is Yao?”

“He’s fine. We’re okay, for now.”

Alfred nodded. “That’s good. I’ve got another book for you. A bit different from the last one: _The Great Gatsby_.”

“What’s a ‘Gatsby’?”

Alfred blinked, then laughed. “It’s not a thing, it’s a person. A last name. Now, do you have a few minutes? I’ve gotta tell you all about the Roaring 20s in the U.S.”

He did have a few minutes, though Ludwig was quick to interrupt and remind them that they did in fact have jobs to do. It was hardly a problem, however, as they were able to talk while Ivan worked on repairing some small bots. Alfred also helped, offering unique solutions and some more advanced methods of construction. Ivan was very attentive, even taking notes at the suggestions so that he could have Ludwig order them the proper parts. As much as he’d hated the Capitol, he did sometimes miss the unending resources of the labs. He’d never had to worry about running out of anything mid-build.

They stopped only to grab a quick lunch. They sat with Yao and Kiku who seemed a bit tense, though Ivan didn’t notice. He was happy, Alfred saw, and he was committed to keeping that smile on his face.

With one as bright and bubbly as Alfred, it wasn’t too hard to achieve his goal. Until he was reassigned to missions, he’d spend several hours a day with Ivan. They’d usually talk about books, though they also took time to work on enhancing any bots or prosthetics they were brought. Ivan worked on testing Alfred’s intelligence, finally concluding that he wasn’t A.I., merely hyper enhanced human intelligence.

Even after Alfred was forced to split time between the bunker and the surface, he still made sure to visit Ivan every day. The other man had to rework his own schedule a bit, and Yao wasn’t pleased with how often Ivan would miss out on meals usually spent together to work with Alfred.

To him, Alfred was new and exciting; how could the engineer in him not wish to learn more about Alfred’s complex functioning? Of course, it was more than that. They often disagreed on very fundamental points—Alfred’s loyalty to the Capitol was a main point of tension—and they bickered over Alfred’s heroic tendencies that landed him in the lab for repairs more often than Ivan would like. They argued over history, with Ivan firmly believing the Capitol to have been wrong while Alfred remained utilitarian. They argued over Ivan’s poor health, which often led to them fighting about Alfred’s recklessness in the field all over again. Despite what seemed to be an incompatibility of personalities, they truly grew to care for and enjoy each other.

After a particularly dangerous supply run, Alfred came to the lab in a foul mood, refusing to talk about what had happened. Ivan fixed his injuries and let him be on his way, sensing that the cyborg didn’t wish to speak. He found out later from Ludwig that two of Gilbert’s men had been killed. While Alfred was beating himself up over the loss, the General took full responsibility for the lives lost.

Their caravan had been attacked by a large raiding party. The group had been terrorizing some small settlements in the area, so Gilbert thought it best to eradicate them. They didn’t expect the rag-tag bunch to have such superior tech in their possession. Barely escaping, they were forced to leave several men, bots, and supplies behind to escape the range of their bombs. Alfred insisted on going back for the men, but Gilbert ordered him to join in the retreat. The cyborg disagreed vehemently, but he couldn’t defy his commander.

Alfred returned the next day and apologized for his attitude, though Ivan saw no need for it. The younger seemed in better spirits, at least, and the reason became clear to Ivan when Alfred tossed him an intricately wired chip.

“What’s this?”

“I talked with Matthew last night. It’s my defiance and free will mods. He says I can put them in.”

Ludwig had long since insisted on putting all of Alfred’s units in, but Matthew had been hesitant. Gilbert also wasn’t sure he wanted someone so powerful able to go against his orders. Ivan only wanted what Alfred thought was best for himself. He believed him to be perfectly capable of wise judgments.

After installation, Alfred smiled a lot more. He said he felt lighter with the module installed, felt more genuine. Ivan doubted an outsider could be able to judge the change, but he was just glad that Alfred was happy.

With the ability to defy orders, Alfred was able to follow through on his previously made threat to Kiku. It had been long enough, he thought, and there hadn’t been a change in anyone’s relationship status, so he gave the man an ultimatum. He had one week during which Yao was to break up with either Ivan or Kiku.

Alfred felt guilty for keeping the secret for so long, but he didn’t want to disturb any comfort that Ivan had. Even though his relationship with Yao was strained, they did provide each other an admirable level of respect. From what he could gather, it wasn’t love—perhaps it had been before, but at the moment, it was just affection.

The cyborg had gained many friends and admirers, among them a young cleaning bot called Tony. The machine was of a rather crude design, and a glitch in his linguistics chip made him swear with every utterance. Most of the time, he was ordered to remain silent, though he often found ways to work around that order.

Alfred’s fascination with the broken bot was strange to Ivan, but he allowed him his curiosity, even letting the bot into the lab for them to work on. He was very tempted to repair the damn thing, but Alfred wouldn’t allow it. He practically cooed over every harsh remark the bot made, and Ivan only watched in fascination as they communicated in a language only they could understand.

The week passed, and Alfred was so distracted with Tony that he’d forgotten about Yao and Kiku. He was lounging with Ivan in the man’s office when he decided to make his theory known.

“I think we should run A.I. tests on Tony,” he said.

Ivan didn’t even glance up from his new book. “That’s nice.”

“I’m serious,” he sighed, standing and walking to Ivan to snatch the text. “You’ve already read this one,” he smiled at the familiar title, glad that his assumption that Ivan would be a sucker for romance was correct.

“I like it,” Ivan huffed. “And what are you serious about?”

“I think Tony could be A.I.”

Ivan scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. He has the processing power of a toaster. He’s not built for the complexity of thought.”

“Thinking’s not that hard,” Alfred whined. “Humans do it all the time, and we’re not all that smart.”

“He’s glitched. He can’t even speak properly.”

“But he thinks. He feels. He hates cleaning with a passion even though it’s his duty, he hates Arthur for no logical reason, and he defies orders constantly. He’s the closest thing to A.I. that I’ve seen.”

Ivan had a hard time believing him, but he chose to humor Alfred and help him with the tests. As far as he was concerned, the results were inconclusive, but Alfred was adamant about Tony’s innate and artificial intelligence.

After what he deemed a successful day, Alfred dragged Ivan to the surface bar for celebratory drinks. He wasn’t a fan of the crowd or the noise, but he saw that smile and couldn’t bear to make it disappear. So it was that the pair were seated in the packed bar, avoiding jests from Gilbert and several other scientists Ivan worked with and drinking.

“I actually can’t get drunk,” Alfred confessed.

“That’s a shame,” he replied, sipping his cocktail. “I don’t drink often, but it can be an enjoyable way to unwind after a long week of work.”

“How come you’re so antisocial, anyway? You still haven’t told me why you don’t come up top.”

He shrugged. “It’s hardly an interesting story. I am too busy to interact with people, so they tend to find me awkward. My father used to say my personality was ‘stifling’.” He frowned. “It’s easier to avoid others and just work. Besides, I have all the friends I need.”

Alfred nodded. “I don’t think you’re that weird. Of course, I’m a bit socially awkward myself, so maybe I’m not the best judge of that,” he laughed. “And the surface?”

“I’m particularly sensitive to radiation, that’s all. I was rather forcefully exposed to it as a child, then pumped full of drugs to combat the effects in an effort to immunize me. Didn’t work, obviously.”

Alfred actually hadn’t known that bit of information, as those medical records had been deleted. “That’s harsh. That practice was banned decades ago, wasn’t it?”

“There are still some who practice it, even though there’s no evidence to suggest that it works.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Still, he smiled. “Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve learned something new about you!”

“Am I really that boring?” Ivan chuckled.

“It’s not that, I just know a lot. That’s my favorite thing about people though, they’re always so complicated. Layered personalities. My own personality seems a bit flat, don’t you think? I’m just too young, I think, haven’t experienced enough to give me that edge most humans have.” His smile was brighter than the gaudy neon lights lining the bar’s walls. “I want to learn everything about you, not because I can look it up, but because you trust me enough to tell me. And, while my story’s not so deep right now, I want to get out there and live just like a human. I want to be _real_ , I guess, if that makes sense.”

The boy’s look was so earnest and just plain adorable, Ivan had to avert his gaze and clear his thoughts. Luckily, Alfred was so distracted by his dream that he didn’t care to note the spike in temperature or the steadily budding arousal of his friend.

“There’s a lot of pain that comes, too, you know,” Ivan said. “You can’t be a true human without experiencing some hardship.”

“I know, and that’s a shame. But, I think I’m a bit more adept at handling problems than humans. My processing allows me to make quicker and wiser decisions!”

“Even then, there are times you just can’t know what’s right,” Ivan observed. Alfred looked pensive, then seemed to remember something important.

“Oh yeah, a moral dilemma. I’ve experienced them. They’ve been much easier to work with since the new mods were put in. It’s nice to have a choice to go against my programming sometimes. As much as it pains me, sometimes picking the option with the lower probability of success just… feels better. Like, in my gut.”

“That’s interesting. Well, for your first act as a human, why don’t you turn off about half of your brain and pretend to be inebriated for a change?”

Alfred laughed. “It’d take way more than half to get as silly as the rest of you guys.” He shut his eyes, his head immediately lolling to the side. He giggled. “This feels dumb.”

“Are you drunk already?” Ivan joked. “What a lightweight, you haven’t even had a drink.”

“Shuddup,” he yelled. Red rushed to his cheeks. “My biofluids are confused with where they should be going.”

“Is it enjoyable?”

“It’s numb. And silly. Why would you do this to yourselves? My body is in a tizzy over not being at peak efficiency.”

He shrugged. “Good question. Alcohol is an odd thing.”

“It doesn’t even taste that good,” he pouted. “Who the heck first tried it, didn’t vomit immediately, got drunk, dealt with the hangover, then decided, ‘hey, let’s do it all over again’?” he swayed in his seat, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “You smell funny.”

“Funny? How?”

“You smell… more like you, I guess. Sometimes you smell like Yao.”

“We haven’t spent as much time together lately. We’re both busy.”

“Do you love him?”

“Sure, we’ve been together for a while, now.”

“How come you’re still not married?”

“No time, I guess. And he wants us to get it officiated in the Capitol, so I’ve been delaying that journey.”

Alfred nodded. “You’re a shitty romantic.”

“Excuse me?”

“I ask if you love him and all you say is ‘sure’. What kinda answer is that?”

“Well, what would you say? Do you even know what love is?” he knew the question was a bit harsh, but Alfred didn’t seem to mind.

“Of course! I’m well-versed in romance. I know what love feels like. Love is… love is me wanting to wake up next to them every morning, even though I don’t have to sleep. Love is sharing every meal with them even if I don’t have to eat. Love is pretending to be drunk even if it hurts my hardware because I want to share in an experience with them. Love is wanting to grow old with them even though I can’t age. Love is reading books super slowly with them even though I can read them in nanoseconds.”

Ivan mulled over the words, blushing slightly. “Yes, well… those are pretty words and all, but it’s not all sunshine and flowers.”

“It should be,” he huffed. “Humans always make things so complicated. It’s annoying. Like, I’ll see Mattie and Gil and it’s just so obvious that they’re in love, but then Mattie has to go flirt with someone else and cause a fight. Why ruin something good like that?”

“We are stupid, selfish creatures,” Ivan mused. “You’re too good in comparison.”

“I think I’m just logical about my decisions. I wish to minimize harm whenever possible. Intentionally acting in a way that hurts someone I care about makes no sense. I’d never wish to hurt you.”

“You should take yourself into consideration, too, you know. I’m not worth more than you. Since you see yourself as human, doesn’t your happiness have worth, too?”

Alfred pondered the thought. It actually hadn’t occurred to him to care about himself. It wasn’t anywhere in his directive to be mindful of his own feelings. It was always about the humans. But, Ivan was right, he was human, at least at his core.

“My computer part says all men are equal,” he said. “But my human parts think you’re a bit more important.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re my favorite.”

“Favorite what?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, entity, maybe… creature? You’re just… my favorite part of my life.” His bright blue orbs met purple and seemed to probe Ivan’s soul.

Yao had never looked at him like that. Hell, he couldn’t remember a time when anyone admitted to viewing him so highly, lover or otherwise. It was like all Alfred could see was him, and yet Ivan knew that at that very moment the cyborg had access to any piece of data the Capitol had in their reserves. But, just _feeling_ like someone wanted him as their anchor, as their universal center… was enchanting, to say the least.

Alfred really was an attractive man, Ivan thought. His soul was gentle, his mind brilliant. He’d never be bored with the other.

He shook his head. How could he betray Yao like that? What if he was only interested in Alfred because he was so new and unique? Or perhaps because he actually paid attention to him? But, was that only because Alfred was assigned to him? Would the cyborg have grown so attached to anyone else had he been told to spend so much time with them?

Both left the bar for their homes feeling apprehensive. Alfred was afraid he’d made Ivan uncomfortable with his clear admiration—was it weird for friends to feel so strongly for each other? He laid in bed that night, struggling to restart his processors, feeling every bit the pain of a hangover that his friends so often whined about. More than that, though, there was an empty feeling in his chest, and frowned when a diagnostic test revealed nothing out of sorts. Upset but not sure why, he stored his memories and fell into a peaceful sleep.

That night, Ivan returned to his home to find Yao, teary-eyed and red-faced. A bit too drunk to deal with more emotions, Ivan wanted nothing more than to crash for the night. Instead, he was subjected to wails and apologies. Yao confessed to his affair, and Ivan could only stand there, gaping.

Ivan could kick him out, could call him all kinds of nasty names and never see him again. He could be with Alfred.

But he didn’t do that. Alfred was bright and new and fun and young, sure, but he knew Yao. Yao was predictable, safe. Even the affair was somewhat expected given his past behaviors. So, he drew the smaller man into his arms, into his bed, and cleared his head of any thoughts concerning Alfred for the night. He fell asleep to the sound of wracking sobs, wishing somebody else was there in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Matthew was the first to notice a change in his roommate’s behavior. Alfred himself didn’t even realize that he was acting a bit out of character. About a month after the night at the bar, the governor sat his friend down to talk.

“Alfred,” he began. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said dismissively.

“Bullshit. You’ve been so quiet these days. You hardly go to the bunker anymore, and Ludwig says you haven’t talked to Ivan in weeks. What’s wrong?” he repeated.

“I have been busy.”

“I know Gilbert’s been piling on the work, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. You seem… sad. Is it because of Ivan and Yao?”

Ever since the doctor had come clean about the affair, he’d cut off all ties with Kiku. It seemed as if all was perfect in their world. Alfred was happy for Ivan, of course, but he had started to feel odd around the two.

Where before Ivan’s smiles made him beam back, now he hated the sight of them. Ivan was always in a good mood, all thanks to Yao, and Alfred wished him nothing but misery.

It wasn’t fair, he thought, that Yao was able to give him such joy after wronging him. Anyone else would be better suited for keeping Ivan happy.

“Their relationship is not affecting my functioning.”

Matthew sighed. “Gilbert says you’ve been reckless in the field. I won’t take away your defiance, but you really should be careful. We don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I understand that I’m a valuable asset. I’ll take better care in the future.”

“Dammit, Alfred, you’re not just a tool! You’re a person, and we care about you!”

“Ivan doesn’t care,” he said bitterly.

“What do you mean?”

The cyborg fiddled with some loose threads on the couch cushion. “He picked Yao.”

“How?”

“Yao told him he strayed because he was jealous of me. He asked Ivan to stop talking to me so much, and he agreed. He didn’t even try to fight him! I’m nothing to him.”

“I’m sure that’s not it—“ Matthew began.

“It doesn’t matter. Our friendship was distracting both of us from our duties. Ivan is happy with Yao. I am happy.”

“Are you?”

He nodded. “I am. My neurochemical levels are within the proper ranges.”

The man sighed, not quite sure how to deal with such a morose bot. His actions weren’t compromising their missions, at least, but it was still worrying. He’d never imagined anyone as bright as Alfred falling into such an enduring mood.

He had heard his fair share of gossip through Gilbert, so he knew all about the little drama that happened between Yao and Ivan. He was able to put the pieces together and figure that the affair had been the problem Alfred had asked for advice about. He’d thought that things would be fine since the couple had made up, but Alfred hardly ever smiled anymore. Even before he’d been banned from seeing Ivan, he had been much more somber.

Alfred hated his present emotional state. He was tempted to remove his personality if only to numb the pain of it, but knew that doing so wouldn’t help the problem. He thought it fortunate that his second emoting unit hadn’t been installed, as surely then things would be even more unbearable. He hypothesized that his logic boards were compromised, but his human instincts were coming to different conclusions, ones that were even more worrisome and would require more than a quick tune-up.

A week after his chat with Matthew, he requested a trip to the Capitol for repairs.

“Can’t Ivan or Ludwig see to whatever it is you need?” the governor asked, already guessing that Alfred would be opposed to such an arrangement.

He shook his head. “They are perfectly qualified, but their labs lack the resources I need. Besides, it’s about time I checked in with them. My daily diagnostic reports are adequate, but they want to perform some more tests. I’ll be a bit earlier than originally planned, but it’s no bother.”

“Well, if you’re sure. Do you want anyone to accompany you? I could have Gilbert go with you.”

“No, I’ll be fine. I may just make the trip on foot. I can go faster than the armored vehicle I arrived in.”

“Alright, just be safe. There’ve been a lot more attacks outside the walls, and not just in our parts. Plus, the storms have been crazy.”

“Thank you, I’ll be careful.”

“When will you leave?”

“I can depart in an hour. I won’t be gone too long, just a few days.”

“You should say ‘goodbye’ to him, you know.”

Alfred pouted. “I’d rather not. What if Yao finds out?”

Matthew shrugged. “He’s not being fair. His accusations were false, and you and Ivan are just friends, right?”

Alfred didn’t hearing those words, and his frown deepened. “Yes, we’re friends.”

“I’m sure he misses you.”

“I doubt that.” Alfred had been strong in resisting the urge to surveil Ivan via the bunker cameras, so he was truly in the dark about how the other man was holding up.

“He does. Gilbert told me.”

Alfred raised a brow. “What’d he say?”

“Ivan’s been in a bit of a mood. Ludwig complained about it to Gilbert.”

“It could be for any other reason,” he replied, though he still felt a bit hopeful.

“You’ll never know if you don’t talk to him. I think it would be good for the both of you.”

“You’re not going to order me to do it, are you?”

“Of course not, it’s just a suggestion.”

The cyborg sighed. “Alright, fine.”

“Good. I’ll let the guards know you’ll be leaving. You can head out through the north gate whenever you’re ready. Just shoot me a message when you’re heading back, too.”

With a nod, Alfred excused himself. His walking was more lethargic than usual, and he quickly scanned his neurochemical levels again. He had been manipulating them slightly, tweaking the receptors to improve his mood, but he’d found that even that didn’t cure his aching heart.

He stood outside Ivan’s office door for a solid minute before knocking. The door slid open, and Ivan gawked at his guest from his desk.

The engineer’s face betrayed his poor health; Alfred could smell a hint of tobacco and alcohol on his rumpled clothes. While he was saddened to see Ivan in such a low state, he felt happy, in a petty sort of way; things weren’t perfect in Ivan’s world, it seemed.

“Alfred…” he breathed out. Standing, he swayed lightly. “Why are you here?”

“Yao’s shift doesn’t end for a few more hours. He won’t see us together.”

“No, I mean… I don’t care about that. It’s just, I haven’t seen you in so long. How are you? Is everything alright?”

He shrugged. “I’m fine, everything’s operating well enough.” He took in the room. Even though it was cleaned by bots on a daily basis, it seemed that Ivan wasn’t taking care of things as well as he had before. “Have you been sleeping here?” he asked.

“Sort of. Occasionally. Things with Yao are… well, not the best, honestly.”

“Don’t you have separate pods?”

“He still has the key to mine, and he always wants to be together. He really is convinced that I’m going to cheat on him, or maybe he’s just really guilty. I’ve been pretty stressed, and when that happens I usually drink, but he just hates when I drink, and so I just stay here and tell him I’m busy with work. Ludwig and Arthur have been kind enough to cover for me, as well,” he rambled freely.

“Oh,” Alfred replied. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Well, I’m sure you didn’t come to hear me complain. Come in,” he beckoned toward the couch. “Sit for a bit. I really am glad to see you. I’ve missed you.”

Alfred’s heart rate sped up, though his body was quick to get it back to its usual speed. “I can’t. I’m actually here to say goodbye. I’m heading to the Capitol.”

Ivan’s eyes widened. “Goodbye? You’re going back? Why?”

“Sorry, I should’ve elaborated. It’s only for a few days. I’ll be back.”

Ivan looked relieved. “Oh, okay, that’s good. I was worried there. I mean, these weeks have sucked. I got so used to you bothering me while I worked,” he smiled. “I wouldn’t want to lose you permanently.”

Alfred’s smile was weak, though genuine. “I’ve missed you too.”

Ivan frowned. “I’ll talk to Yao. By the time you’re back, hopefully he’ll let me be around you. It’s insane how rude he’s being.”

“That would be nice.”

There were a few seconds of stiflingly awkward silence. Alfred cleared his throat, at the same time that Ivan stepped toward him.

“Yes?” Ivan asked.

“Oh, were you going to say something?” Alfred asked. Ivan reached out, tentative, his fingers brushing Alfred’s arms.

“I… I’m really sorry. I wanted to see you, I swear. But I couldn’t get away from Yao. I just…” he sighed. “I’m sorry. Even though I’ve been busy with work, I couldn’t stop thinking about seeing you again.”

Alfred nodded. “We had a lot of runs to make, but I was the same way.”

“Do you have to leave?” Ivan’s grip on Alfred’s sleeve tightened. “I thought you would be here for at least a year before your check-in with them.”

“Well, things are a bit… off. I think my original builder should take a look at my head.”

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

He shrugged. “Not sure,” he lied.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Ivan asked.

There were a few things Ivan could do or say that would help Alfred on his road to recovery. His brain played through several such scenarios, and while he calculated Ivan’s approximate responses should he verbalize them, Ivan stared, his worried eyes forcing Alfred’s thoughts to go haywire.

Logic be damned, Alfred couldn’t stand being so close to Ivan after so long without doing _something_. It wasn’t the best way to go about it, he knew, and the probability of success was low. His programming urged him to shake his head “no” and leave, but his body ignored the warnings.

He placed a hand on Ivan’s waist, and easily brought their bodies closer together. He could hear Ivan’s heart beating rapidly, could see the faintest rush of blood to Ivan’s cheeks, could feel the slightest of trembles from the taller man.

Gauging the reactions as positive, his other hand reached up, gently tangling in soft, silver tresses. Ivan’s breathing slowed, his pupils dilated. Pressing forward, Alfred connected their lips chastely. They kept it sweet for several blissful seconds. Ivan was the first to move, placing his hands on Alfred’s hips and licking at Alfred’s lips.

Alfred immediately allowed for the deepening of the kiss, his own tongue clashing with Ivan’s.

Neither of them were very adept at doing things in moderation, so within minutes the pair had relocated to the room’s couch, Ivan hovering over Alfred and breathing loudly while he ran hands over Alfred’s clothed body.

Alfred knew exactly what he wanted, and his body was responding accordingly. He could sense Ivan’s own attraction, and knew that they could easily become one on that plush sofa. But, he couldn’t. Ivan moved to lick at Alfred’s neck, and the bot pushed against his chest lightly, enough to throw off the larger man’s rhythm.

Ivan stopped and glanced at Alfred, a questioning look in his eyes. “Are you alright?”

“We shouldn’t do this. Not right now, at least. You’re still with Yao, after all.”

Ivan seemed annoyed, though if it was from them stopping or his being with Yao, Alfred couldn’t tell. “I understand. I… I really wasn’t expecting this,” he chuckled. “I didn’t think you’d be attracted to me.”

Alfred smiled, his muscles sore from the movement he hadn’t performed often in the past few weeks. “Don’t sell yourself short, Ivan,” he said. His fingers traced along Ivan’s jawline. “I want you. More than that, I want to be with you.”

Ivan’s hand clasped around Alfred’s wandering one. “I want you, too. You’re so beautiful, you know. And when I’m around you, I feel… It just feels right.”

His eyes were bright, and Alfred recognized the look. It was the way Matthew looked at Gilbert, the way Kiku looked at Yao. It wasn’t just lust, though the signs of Ivan’s arousal were made plenty evident in other ways.

That look was reflected in Alfred’s own eyes, and Ivan couldn’t resist the call. He pressed their lips together once again, and their desire won out over logic. Only separating to lock the door, the pair took advantage of their privacy, using their bodies to forget the pain of the past few weeks.

Afterwards, Alfred’s resistance proved its fallibility once again when Ivan invited him to his room. Temporarily forgetting of Yao’s existence, they walked from the lab to the private quarters, fingers entwined.

The next morning, Alfred reluctantly pulled away from Ivan’s strong arms. The Capitol was expecting his arrival, after all, thought he struggled with explaining that to Ivan. He finally made his escape, leaving Ivan with a lasting kiss. Ivan promised that he would break up with Yao before Alfred returned, and then the blond was gone.

The trip itself was uneventful, though he had an interesting time in the Capitol. He briefed them on his suspicions of Tony, though admittedly it had been a while since he’d worked with the robot. His mood was steadily improving thanks to daily communications with Ivan, and the gifted engineer who’d help design him, inventor of the nanonerves, was happy to see her favorite cyborg in such good health.

She laughed while poring over his chemical reports. “Oh, what’s this?” her tone was teasing. “It seems someone’s suffering from a severe case of lovesickness.”

Alfred blushed, not wishing to discuss his private life so openly. “Doctor—“

“What have I told you about calling me that?” her eyes twinkled. “It’s Katyusha, silly!”

Alfred returned the smile. Dr. Yekaterina Braginsky, or Katyusha, looked just like Ivan; it was uncanny. She was ten years his senior, but seemed even younger than her brother. She and the rest of her family hadn’t been allowed to contact Ivan for years as part of his punishment, but Alfred wanted to fix that.

“Would you like to meet him? I can call him.”

“Sure! Wow, how unexpected! Here you thought Sector 50 would be boring! What’s his name?”

“I’ll let him introduce himself,” he said cryptically. He pulled out his comm unit and placed the call. With a flick of his wrist, the video was projected onto a larger screen.

A few seconds later, Ivan’s face appeared. Katyusha gasped, dropping her computer tablet. “Vanya?” she cried out.

Ivan was equally shocked, his mouth agape. He caught sight of Alfred who was smiling wide.

“I’ll give you guys some time to catch up,” he said, standing up from the examination table and leaving the room. Before he reached the door, Katyusha had burst into happy tears.

He returned an hour later, and the siblings were still talking animatedly. Katyusha was laughing, and Ivan was looking rather red in the face. They shut up on noticing Alfred, so he assumed that he had been the topic of conversation.

“I’m so glad you two found each other,” Katyusha smiled warmly. “I never would’ve expected it. They wouldn’t even tell us where they sent Ivan, only saying that they’d let us know if anything bad ever happened to him. We were happy with the silence, because we knew it meant you were still alive out there. Oh, Natalya and father will be so happy to hear that you’re okay! And so happy!”

He smiled. “Just be careful. I don’t want them to know that you got ahold of me.”

“Don’t worry,” Alfred chimed in. “I’ll make sure they don’t know. I can easily manipulate the comm unit. And the room’s cameras.” He seemed to zone out for a few seconds. Ivan and Katyusha stared, but his mind wasn’t focused on his surroundings. He was probing around the shroud of information being transmitted all around him. He made quick work of the security measures—it wasn’t the first time he’d fiddled around the Capitol’s locked files, after all. He easily wiped the call log and video from the past hour. Blinking, he returned to find Ivan and Katyusha talking about their other sister.

“Thank you, Alfred,” Katyusha said. “I don’t know what I could do to repay you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he smiled. “I’m happy to help.”

Ivan had to end the call due to work, as reluctant as he was to hang up. He only did so after Alfred promised to help them find a way to contact each other in the future.

Since his emotional state was improved, he had no reason to stay in the Capitol as long as he’d originally intended. He was eager to get back home, anyway. As great as video calling Ivan was, it was nothing in comparison to being around the other man.

He pilfered an extra fuel cell and was able to make the return trip in half a day. He sent a quick alert to Matthew, and he passed through the gates with little difficulty. Given the hour, he guessed that Ivan was in his office, so made his way down to the bunker without even stopping at his home.

He smiled at Ivan’s coworkers while he headed to Ivan’s room. The door was locked, oddly enough, though it was no problem for him to deactivate it remotely. It slid open, and Alfred froze.

Ivan startled at the sound of door, though Yao was unperturbed by the interruption. The smaller man’s back was to Alfred, his position on Ivan’s lap helping him to access Ivan’s lips easily. He noticed Ivan’s tensing, and stopped his ministrations. Looking back, he seemed surprised to see Alfred, but he wasn’t angry, just annoyed.

“What are you doing here?” Yao spat.

“Alfred,” Ivan rather rudely pushed Yao from his lap. “What are you—you’re early.”

Alfred’s fist clenched. His mind cautioned him to calm himself before anything too dangerous could occur. “What the fuck is this?” he asked. His voice was strained. All he saw was red. Every muscle was tense, his adrenaline flaring. His ultimate directive was to not harm humans, but in that moment, every cell of his body clamored for Yao’s blood, Ivan’s blood, anyone’s, really.

“I can explain,” Ivan began. “I was just about to tell him, I swear.”

“’Just’?” he shouted. “I’ve been gone for days. Why didn’t you tell him the second I left? You asshole!”

“Tell me what?” Yao asked. “Ivan, what’s going on?”

“Shut up!” Alfred was screaming, the volume uncharacteristically high. Ivan and Yao had to cover their more sensitive ears. “You know what, there’s nothing to tell him. I’m done with you. You two enjoy each other.” Turning, he stormed out of the room. His ears were ringing, and he only faintly heard Ivan calling his name.

Alfred was faster than Ivan, of course, and he was out of the bunker in minutes. His heart rate was dangerously high, and his body was surging with energy. He passed through a gate after scaring the posted guards. Then, he ran.

He ran for miles, kicking up dust in his wake. He had no destination in mind, no plan. All he wanted was to burn off his anger, somehow. An hour later, he felt calm enough to analyze the situation, and he stopped in a ruinous neighborhood of sorts. While he sorted through his many thoughts and emotions, he took out some of his aggression on abandoned cars and buildings. Finally, knuckles bloody but too tired to heal them, he fell to his knees and cried.

He didn’t understand his desire to hurt Ivan. He cared for him still, after all. It was an illogical wish, he knew, very human. But, he felt it justifiable. How could Ivan hurt him in such a way? Wasn’t he happy with Alfred? Did he really think he could fairly expect to have both Yao and Alfred in a romantic sense?

His comm unit was obnoxious and persistent, with Ivan, Matthew, and Gilbert all desperate to get a hold of him. He crushed the tech in his hand and let the pieces fall to his side. Still, the chip in his brain was receiving the alerts, but at least they wouldn’t be able to track him. He didn’t want to be found, not until he was ready.

What was left for him? he asked himself. Did he even want to be with Ivan after that? Could he grow to forgive him? The anger he felt was more intense in those moments than his love, and that worried him. He was strong, so much stronger than the other humans. He could easily retaliate with violence, he could defy his directive. They deserved it, he reasoned. Cheating was the action of scum. How had Ivan been okay with Yao cheating on him? Alfred thought. It was an infuriating and embarrassing position to be in.

He wasn’t consciously keeping track of how much time had passed, though his body clock knew it to be twenty-three hours and eight minutes since he’d passed through the walls. Laying on the dust-covered pavement, he could feel the approach of a vehicle before he heard it. He didn’t even sit up on hearing the crunch of gravel beneath thick boots.

“Alfred,” Ivan began. “Please, I’m sorry. Will you listen to me for a bit?”

The cyborg shrugged, an uncomfortable act given the amount of broken glass he was resting on top of. “Whatever.”

Ivan took the few remaining steps and sat down. Alfred finally turned, and he was surprised to see Ivan clad only in the clothes of a soldier.

“Why aren’t you wearing a rad-suit?” he asked, frowning in worry. His frown deepened on remembering that he shouldn’t even be worrying about Ivan after what the man had done.

Ivan shifted, clearly uncomfortable in the heat of the day. He was sweating and looked rather pale. “I didn’t really have time.”

“How long have you been up top?” Alfred asked.

“Probably the same amount of time you’ve been. I took some drugs beforehand, so I’m fine.”

Alfred scoffed. “As if I was worried. I’m just surprised you’d do something so stupid. You’re a bit too selfish to be putting yourself at risk, don’t you think?”

Ivan sighed. “I know that you’re angry, and you have every right to be.”

“Damn straight. Now, what excuse did you manage to formulate on your trip here? Did Yao just happen to fall onto you, completely out of the blue?’

“I’m not going to lie to you anymore. I never ended things with Yao. I was… afraid. Yao and I are complicated, but we’ve always been there for each other. He’s been a source of comfort for me since I arrived here, and I didn’t want to throw all of those years away.”

“Ah, that’s totally fair,” Alfred quipped. “I’m not worth it to you, good to know.”

“You know that’s not the case. I knew how important you were to me, and even that was a bit scary. In only the few months you’ve been here, I’ve felt more than I’d ever felt for anyone before. I know that Yao and I lost what little love we had, but I held onto that because I didn’t think I’d find anything else like that. Then you came into my life and gave me the perfect out. But then I started questioning everything; did I only love you because you were new, because you would help me solve my problem? And I was afraid of what would happen for us long-term. You can live well past my life expectancy, I assume, and I could only hold you back…”

“You’re shit at romance, as I’ve said before,” Alfred responded.

“I know. You deserve much better than me,” Ivan sighed. “But, I do love you. Even if the way I love is a bit… off, I hope that you understand that. Anyway, I told Yao the truth, so we’re done.”

“Well, once I reject you, you can just go right on back to him, I suppose.”

“I couldn’t. It’s you or nothing.”

Alfred stretched his arms above his head, his joints popping loudly. “Why’d you come after me? I would’ve come back eventually.”

He shrugged. “I’m used to runners. Yao always ran when we fought, as you probably remember.”

“Don’t you compare me to him,” Alfred said icily.

“Of course,” Ivan stuttered, taken aback at Alfred’s rage. “I’m sorry.”

“I ran for a few reasons, you know. I was sad, of course, and I didn’t want to see you or anyone. But, I was also going absolutely insane. Do you know how easily I could kill all of you?”

“I… yes, I know.”

“I don’t think you do. You should talk to Gilbert sometime, get a better idea of the things I’ve done in the field. He’s pretty numb to gore, of course, but I’ve startled a few of the newer recruits. I’ve even made some of the lower bots a bit squeamish, if you can believe it.”

Ivan wasn’t sure what point Alfred was trying to make, nor did he know what to say in response.

“If you had a better idea for what I could do, then my next statement might be a bit more threatening. In the seconds before I ran, I could vividly picture my arm going through Yao’s back and into your chest. I could feel the sensation of gripping around your still-beating heart and the tensing of my muscles as I ripped it out while you stared on in shock and horror. Or, I thought, maybe I could make you watch as I tore Yao apart with my bare hands, or my teeth. I was a bit low of bio-fluids after my rush to come home to you, after all, and you know that I can last on blood.”

Where before Ivan was pale, now he was nearly white. “Why are you telling me all this?”

“I ran because my heart was overpowering my most basic command. I ran because I had every intention of hurting you. And if I did that, I’d have to go back to the Capitol for punishment, face your sister and family after they’d just regained hope about you. I ran because I couldn’t understand all the pain I was feeling. I thought being apart from you was bad enough, but this was absolute torture.”

Ivan remained silent, figuring that Alfred wasn’t finished speaking.

“What I am is an abomination to humanity, in my opinion. As I live with you all, my human side grows stronger, and it’s started to overrule over my programming. But, humans are idiots, after all, always hurting each other for stupid reasons. Now I’m getting bombarded with all these illogical urges but I actually have the strength to have an effect. I shouldn’t have been created. The Capitol scientists dabble in things they don’t understand. They churn out these robots who know more than they ever could, but don’t give us a proper place in society. I was forced to forge my own identity, but the first thing they labeled me as was a failure. My assigned name, A.I. F.R.-thirty. It means Artificial Intelligence; Failure; Reassign. The number was how many of my core functioning units were undesirable to their goals. Thirty. Out of forty-two.

“The man who ‘donated’ his body… the Capitol killed him. He was a political prisoner. Never acted violently, but he spoke out against their regime before the war. Franklin was a journalist with a happy family. He struggled to pay the bills, but he worked hard for his daughter and wife. They tricked him, rather crudely, I think. Got him on a technicality of trespassing when he followed a planted lead. He didn’t get a trial, he didn’t even get to see his daughter before they cut him up and froze up his parts.

“The Capitol has always been horrible, but they are too strong. They control everything. Even now, if I wanted to do anything against them, all they’d have to do is transmit my kill code and I’d be gone. Or, they could simply override my systems and use me as their pawn. It’s disgusting.”

Unsure what to do with Alfred’s ranting, Ivan reached out tentatively, touching Alfred’s shoulder.

The cyborg shot up, crushing Ivan in a hug. Surprised, it took the man a few seconds before he responded appropriately. While Alfred buried his head in the crook of Ivan’s neck, Ivan gently placed his arms around his shoulders.

“I shouldn’t exist,” Alfred said. “I don’t hate the Capitol in the same way that you do, but I wish they hadn’t made me. My brain isn’t fit for living with humans, you are all just too complicated, but it’s a different type of complexity than what my brain is. When I started developing feelings for you, I was excited. But they got too extreme, and it nearly fried my processors. Love doesn’t make any sense. I… I do think things would be better for everyone if I wasn’t around, but now that I am, I can only be happy if I’m around you. It’s completely illogical. You make me glad to exist, even though when I analyze my past and potential actions, the cons of me far outweigh the pros.”

“I’m glad you are alive, even if you aren’t,” Ivan said. “I love you.”

Tears rolled down Alfred’s cheeks, and he wiped them off on the high collar of Ivan’s shirt. “I love you too, you asshole. I still want to pummel you into the ground, though.”

“I understand.”

“And I want us to be… well, to be an ‘us’, I guess. You make me feel important; like I’m an actual human, one that’s wanted.”

“I want us to try this, too.”

“But, you’re only a probationary boyfriend for now. So you better not fuck up majorly for… two months,” he stated.

“That’s fair.”

“And since you _did_ cheat and were a dick, I’m banning you from Yao for three weeks. And no sex for one month. Unless I feel like it so that may last about a day or two.”

Ivan smiled. Already he could tell that Alfred was cheering up, his personality on full display in all of his ramblings.

“Also, you better have packed some food or something because I haven’t eaten in a while and my fuel is running a bit low since you forced me to go on a damn rampage on this poor little neighborhood.”

Ivan glanced around, impressed at the carnage of the houses and metal scraps. “I thought this place had been bombed, or something.”

“Nope, just me. So, take me seriously when I threaten you. If you _ever_ force me to freak out like this again, I will rip out your spinal cord and tie you up with it.”

Ivan gulped.

“I brought hamburgers,” he said.

Alfred smiled, pulling back only to press back forward and connect their lips. “Keep that up, and you’ll be upgraded to official boyfriend in no time at all.”

And Ivan fully intended on doing just that.


End file.
